Talking PointA quick Mideast news quiz, by the rockets red glareBy Daniel Meltzer
Now lets get all this straight. If we can.What should we call the latest? Is it the retaliatory bombardment for yesterdays rocket attack? Or is it the rocket attack payback for yesterdays retaliation, the one that was launched to exact payment for the score-settling raid of the day before yesterday that was meant to avenge the previous days cross-border incursion?

Playing for worthy cause was the Dragonmoms goalBy Judith Stiles
When their soccer team got beaten badly all day long  that is, hammered in the first game, 8-0, clobbered in the second game, 8-1, and crushed in the third game, 8-3  their own motherly words of wisdom came back to haunt them.

Gauchos gallop over GothamsThe 14-and-Under Lower East Side Gauchos baseball team beat the Gothams, a powerhouse team from the Upper West Side, on Wednesday night at East River Park, 2-0.

"Serving West and East Village, Chelsea, SoHo, NoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown and the Lower East Side"

Villager photo by Milo Hess

Beats air conditioningDuring last weeks heat wave, a young man immersed himself in the Washington Square Park fountain, a refreshing way to cool off that also did not drain any energy from the overstressed power grid.

NEWSChristopher gets cops and outreach for gay youthBy Albert Amateau
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn this week announced a city-funded pilot program to solve the conflicts between lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth who hang out on the Christopher St. Pier and West Village residents and merchants.

Neighbors in discord with 13th St. music clubBy Janet Kwon
Opus NY has not yet produced a single note of music, but its critics are already firing a volley of scathing reviews. A new East Village music venue, Opus NY is still in its construction phase, with a tentative opening date in mid-September, at 531 E. 13th St.

Hetero outpost in Chelsea will fall to the wrecking ballBy Lincoln Anderson
Phil Alotta pulled down the heavy metal gate outside his restaurant Chelsea Grill last Sunday afternoon. Then he and his wife, Carolyn, attached several heavy padlocks to secure it. They would only close up one more time. An auction of the places contents was scheduled for Monday, after which Chelsea Grills 15 years at the location would come to an end.

INSIDETrust gets ready to float another R.F.P. for Pier 40By Lincoln Anderson
Following its aborted process to redevelop Pier 40 three years ago, the Hudson River Park Trust is currently circulating a draft request for proposals for the 14-acre pier, soliciting feedback from Community Board 2 members and the Hudson River Park Trust Advisory Council.

The picture changes as street artists retract letterBy David Spett
Four of the five members of the Soho International Artists Cooperative Union have retracted a letter to the City Council requesting original-artist-only zones in Manhattan restricted to First Amendment vendors.

N.Y.U. lashes out at preservationist over dorm flapBy Lincoln Anderson
After coming under criticism last week for filing plans for its new E. 12th St. dorm without first notifying the community or elected officials, as well as for not incorporating neighbors input into the design, New York University is firing back. In the crosshairs of the universitys spin counteroffensive is Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

Not easy stopping old P.S. 64 owner from choppingBy Lincoln Anderson
There were yet more puzzling developments at the old P.S. 64 during the past week.
Last Thursday, Daniel Reardon, a representative of the National Architectural Trust preservation organization, wrote City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, saying hed received a call from old P.S. 64 owner Gregg Singers attorney.

City will appeal Wash. Sq. lawsuit in NovemberBy Albert Amateau
The city last Tuesday won the Appellate Divisions permission to appeal Justice Emily Jane Goodmans decision that the Department of Parks and Recreation must take its plans for the redesign of the Washington Square Park fountain and fountain plaza back to Community Board 2 and to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Patrol that puts out the water may be dissolvedBy David Spett
Firefighting is in Eric Schultzs blood.
Schultz, 51, who lives in Southampton, N.Y., became a Village fire patrolman in 1992, following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, also a fire patrolman, and his great-great-grandfather, a New York City volunteer firefighter before the Civil War.
Dispute over candidates primary home knocks him off primary ballotBy David Spett
Ken Diamondstone, who is running against incumbent Martin Connor for State Senate in the 25th District, may lose his spot on the September primary ballot if he doesnt win an appeal in state Supreme Court this week.

George advised to clean Chinatown guck, own makeupBy David Spett
George ODowd, better known as singer Boy George, was recently sentenced to five days of community service in Sanitation District 3 for falsely reporting a burglary in his Little Italy loft on Oct. 7, 2005. Police responding to the scene also found 14 bags of cocaine.

Seminary critics slam unholy alliance with developerBy Albert Amateau
After a three-hour meeting last week, General Theological Seminary and its Chelsea neighbors were still far apart on the size of a Ninth Ave. mixed residential-academic complex that the seminary plans in partnership with the Brodsky Organization.

School neighbors want to go yardBy David Spett
Community Board 2 unanimously passed a resolution on July 20 encouraging the opening of the main yard at P.S. 41, also called the Greenwich Village School, on 11th St. between Sixth and Seventh Aves.

Arts & Entertainment

N.Y. Fringe Fest celebrates 10 yearsBrian Parks is being humble. During a recent rehearsal of his two separate but related plays that he paired together and titled Americana Absurdum, the playwright refuses to make any grand claim that his show launched the New York International Fringe Festival.

Dear Mr. LonelyheartsBy Marin Resnick
Ron Geraci, a writer, editor, and Thompson Street resident, understands mens dating woes. The 36-year-old relationship expert began a dating column in Mens Health in 2000, has worked for the online dating website Match.com, and has edited the New York Times Modern Love column. Recently, he wrote The Bachelor Chronicles (Kensington Books), a memoir that has drawn comparisons to Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City fame.

Koch On FilmBy Ed KocMiami Vice (+) My favorite television cop shows were Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, and the failed series, Cop Rock, all created by Steven Bochco. I didnt watch the Miami Vice series, but I interfaced with the show when I was mayor.
13 Tzameti (+) My eyes did not leave the screen from the opening scene to the end of this film. 13 Tzameti is a superb movie experience.

A Stone Carver, chiseled to perfectionBy Jerry Tallmer
Opening night went just fine, says William Mastrosimone, except, of course, for that one little thing that always goes wrong. Right at the beginning of the play, when Raff and his girlfriend Janice come to talk with Raffs irascible, shotgun-wielding father, the young woman, once the door is unbarred, is to bring forth from her purse a bottle of wine as a sort of peace offering.